Nicolò Zeno was one of a dozen Navigatori-class destroyers built for the Regia Marina (Royal Italian Navy) in the late 1920s.

[4] They carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).

[3] Their main battery consisted of six 120-millimeter (4.7 in) guns in three twin-gun turrets, one each fore and aft of the superstructure and the third amidships.

[4] Nicolò Zeno was laid down by Cantieri navali del Quarnaro at their Fiume shipyard on 5 June 1927, launched on 12 August 1928 and commissioned on 27 May 1930.

[2] While at Brindisi, Italy, in blackout conditions on 27 September 1940, Nicolò Zeno collided with the destroyer Augusto Riboty.